Throughout 2019, Seattle CityClub Premier Member Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has been hard at work, furthering their mission of ending cancer and related diseases as causes of human suffering and death. One major way this goal is being achieved: through community engagement!
Fred Hutch is guided by the values of Scientific Excellence, Integrity, Respect, Openness, and Innovation, as well as a commitment to diversity and to educating the next generation of researchers and innovators. Their world-class scientists, including three Nobel Laureates, have revolutionized the prevention, detection and treatment of many cancers and other diseases, and their work has won recognition from national and international organizations.
How does engagement help Fred Hutch achieve their mission? Here are five major examples of how they’ve been in the community this year:
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- Clinical trials and volunteer studies. Engaging with the community is a crucial piece of ensuring that the studies, and their findings, are representative of the communities Fred Hutch serves. This is also true of Fred Hutch’s HIV Vaccine Trials Network, which conducts active studies in countries on five continents.
. - The Office of Community Outreach and Engagement. This program uses an integrative approach to understand barriers to health and healthcare among residents in WA state, with an emphasis on underserved populations, assessing community health needs and investigating the challenges to treatment and education within these communities. The approach includes an annual community grant-writing workshop and a small grant funding opportunity.
. - Fred Hutch’s Center for Community Health Promotion. This satellite office in the Yakima Valley runs multiple cancer prevention and health disparities projects using a community-based participatory research approach to reduce health disparities experienced by communities in and around Sunnyside, WA.
. - The Science Education Partnership (SEP) and other educational programs. Through professional development workshops and a science mentor program, SEP allows teachers to learn molecular biology techniques and participate in laboratory research. Since 1991, the SEP has paired research scientists with over 560 secondary school science teachers in Washington State. SEP also helps participating scientists hone their teaching skills and learn about middle and high school science education. The future of science rests in the hands of the next generation of researchers, and Fred Hutch wants to help ensure that budding investigators — including high school students, secondary school teachers, college and graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows — will be at the vanguard of tomorrow’s breakthroughs.
. - The Philanthropy Department. Community engagement work is powered by the donors in the community, who fuel the lifesaving research in disease prevention, treatment and cures. Starting with Dr. Bill Hutchinson’s local fundraising successes before Fred Hutch even opened its doors, the support of the community, a direct reflection of the caring and compassion of our region, has helped shape Fred Hutch into the award-winning cancer research center it is today.
- Clinical trials and volunteer studies. Engaging with the community is a crucial piece of ensuring that the studies, and their findings, are representative of the communities Fred Hutch serves. This is also true of Fred Hutch’s HIV Vaccine Trials Network, which conducts active studies in countries on five continents.
Fred Hutch has also been involved in dozens of other projects in 2019, including putting on a record-breaking Obliteride, inspiring and working alongside other organizations founded on Fred Hutch science, and sharing 60,000 square feet of facilities and resources to help drive innovation. Their membership with Seattle CityClub is just one more way that Fred Hutch engages with key civic organizations in order to form partnerships that enable public policy to enhance scientific impact.
Seattle CityClub is thankful to Fred Hutch for being a CityClub Premier Member, and we’re thankful for their leadership in eliminating cancer and related diseases while improving the overall health of the community. We’re proud to have them as a partner!
To share your organization’s story of community impact please contact us at membership@64.227.103.216 — we love to hear, and share, how our members are making a difference!